Thousands Form Human Chain in Dresden to Protest Rightwing Rally

Thousands Form Human Chain in Dresden to Protest Rightwing Rally

Thousands of people Sunday formed a human chain in the eastern German city of Dresden to mark the 66th anniversary of a deadly World War II bombing and to protest against a neo-Nazi gathering.

Some 17,000 people braved snow and sub-zero temperatures to form the three-kilometre (two-mile) long chain, city authorities said, as far-right extremists congregated ahead of a planned "funeral march" through Dresden.

Thousands of police kept the neo-Nazis away from anti-fascist activists and the protests had passed off largely peacefully by early afternoon.

"There are so many people here who want to express their opinion clearly and make Dresden a tolerant, friendly and strong city, open to the world. I am proud and grateful," said the city's deputy mayor Detlef Sittel.

"When we remember the victims of the Dresden bombings today, we remember all the victims of Nazi violence and World War II," he added.

"We will never forget."

The day began with a wreath-laying ceremony at a cemetery where thousands of victims are buried, attended by Stanislaw Tillich, who heads the regional government of Saxony and the British ambassador to Germany.

By mid-afternoon, a few hundred neo-Nazis had gathered at the city's main train station, watched over by a major police presence.

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